Architect Buzz Yudell of Moore Ruble Yudell and his wife Tina Beebe built the Georgina Residence as a living green laboratory. Diving head first into the intricacies of sustainable design, Yudell and Beebe designed their home to be net zero, use minimal energy and water and to have an intimate connection with the outdoors. The transparent envelope with sliding walls blurs the indoor-outdoor boundary, but the house also enjoys privacy even despite being on an urban lot in Santa Monica, California.

Yudell and Beebe used to have a larger house on the ocean in Malibu, but they grew tired of their commute into Santa Monica where they both work at Moore Ruble Yudell. To be closer to work, friends and the conveniences of the city, they bought a lot in town and tore down the old home to build a new sustainable one. The 4,500 sq ft home provides net zero living and offered Yudell and Beebe the chance to explore sustainable strategies and push their abilities in environmentally friendly design and living.

In their former home, the couple had a close connection to the surrounding environment, and they chose to incorporate that into their new home as well. So the boundary between the interior and exterior is made flexible with the help of transparent materials, sliding doors and operable windows. Daylight and passive design strategies play a critical role in the home’s design and a central double-height rood serves as the home’s core to let in light and help expel warm air. No air conditioning was included and passive design strategies like shading and ventilation ensure the indoor climate stays in a comfortable range.

Materials used include sustainably-sourced FSC certified lumber, no or low VOC finishes, recycled or recyclable materials, renewable bamboo and low-waste framing & millwork practices. Energy efficient systems, appliances and LED lighting were installed along with a high-efficiency gas boiler and a variable-speed pool pump. Outside, the landscape features drought tolerant native species, a green roof planted with grasses, permeable paving, drip irrigation and onsite water retention to prevent runoff. Finally, the home features a solar hot water heating system and photovoltaics which provide more than 100 percent of the energy needs.